You are here

  • Home
  • Princess Rajwa, Crown Prince Hussein attend iftar with orphaned children in Amman

Princess Rajwa, Crown Prince Hussein attend iftar with orphaned children in Amman

Princess Rajwa, Crown Prince Hussein attend iftar with orphaned children in Amman
The royal couple spent time with the children and were photographed playing games, sharing a meal and engaging in conversation with the young attendees. (Instagram)
Short Url

https://arab.news/6kbte

Updated 26 March 2025
Arab News
Follow

Princess Rajwa, Crown Prince Hussein attend iftar with orphaned children in Amman

Princess Rajwa, Crown Prince Hussein attend iftar with orphaned children in Amman
Updated 26 March 2025
Arab News
Follow

DUBAI: Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein of Jordan and Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah visited  Children’s Museum Jordan this week to attend an iftar event with orphans. 

The royal couple spent time with the children and were photographed playing games, sharing a meal and engaging in conversation with the young attendees. They also took time to pose for pictures with the children.

“Rajwa and I were overjoyed to share today’s iftar with children from orphan care homes,” the crown prince shared on Instagram. “Today’s iftar was filled with love and positive energy with our wonderful children. May God bless them.” 

For the occasion, Saudi-born Princess Rajwa wore the Isabella brown flora kaftan by Egyptian-helmed fashion label Bambah. The ensemble was styled with a Fendi Peekaboo ISeeU Petite beige padded leather bag.

Crown Prince Hussein kept it casual, opting for a black polo shirt and cargo pants. 

Last week, the crown prince took to Instagram to share a heartwarming post for Mother’s Day, dedicated to both his wife, Princess Rajwa, who is the mother of their 7-month-old daughter Iman, and his mother, Queen Rania.

“To my beloved mother and my loving wife, your presence fills our lives with joy, and your love is the true meaning of giving. Happy Mother’s Day,” he wrote.

The post featured two touching photos — one of the crown prince with his mother and baby Iman, and another of Princess Rajwa playing with their daughter.

The couple welcomed their first baby in August. 

At her birth, King Abdullah posted a tribute to his granddaughter on social media. Translated from Arabic, the post reads: “I thank God for giving us our first granddaughter Iman bint Hussein. I congratulate beloved Hussein and Rajwa for their newborn.

“We ask God to raise her well and protect her for her parents. You have lit up our family.”

Queen Rania also took to social media to write” “Praise be to God for His greatest gifts … You have brightened our lives with our beloved granddaughter Iman. May God keep her with us. Congratulations to Hussein and Rajwa, and may God fill your lives with blessings and contentment.”

Topics: Princess Rajwa Crown Prince Hussein

Abu Dhabi gears up for 7th Culture Summit 

Abu Dhabi gears up for 7th Culture Summit 
Updated 23 April 2025
Arab News
Follow

Abu Dhabi gears up for 7th Culture Summit 

Abu Dhabi gears up for 7th Culture Summit 
  • 3-day program will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, artist talks, and workshops
  • Impact of AI on the creative industries among wide range of topics to be discussed
Updated 23 April 2025
Arab News

DUBAI: The UAE capital is preparing to host the seventh edition of Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, a global forum for cultural exchange and dialogue, from April 27-29 at Manarat Al-Saadiyat. 

Organized by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, the three-day event will bring together policymakers, artists, scholars, and innovators to explore the theme “Culture for Humanity and Beyond,” focusing on the intersection of culture, technology and global governance.

The program will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, artist talks, and workshops. 

Confirmed speakers include Mo Gawdat, former chief business officer at Google X; philosopher Susan Buck-Morss; Prof. Iyad Rahwan from the Max Planck Institute; and Glenn D. Lowry, director of MoMA.

Other prominent voices set to appear include Sir William Sargent of Framestore, and Koyo Kouoh, executive director and chief curator of Zeitz MOCAA.

The panels will explore a wide range of topics, including the impact of artificial intelligence on the creative industries.

Sessions such as “AI Revolution: Redefining Creativity in the Age of Machines,” “Should Governments Regulate AI to Compensate the Creative Industries?” and “The Double-Edged Sword of AI in Cinema” will address the growing role of generative technologies in reshaping artistic expression, intellectual property and creative labor.

The summit will also revisit cultural policy discussions, hosting the second edition of the Mondiacult Ministerial Dialogue. The two-part session will bring together more than 10 ministers of culture to explore the influence of AI on culture and the role of the arts in peacebuilding and sustainability. 

Another key session will examine the implementation of the UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education, building on outcomes from a related global conference held in Abu Dhabi in early 2024.

Highlighting culture as a public good, the summit will include sessions on environmental sustainability, heritage preservation, and cultural governance. Sessions will include “Turning Green: What Happens When Cultural Leaders Take Action for the Planet” and “From Ruins to Resilience: A New Era of Heritage Rehabilitation.”

Creative voices such as Thomas Heatherwick, Colleen Atwood, Refik Anadol, and Herbie Hancock will participate in artist talks and panels. The program will also feature conversations between prominent figures, including philanthropist Maja Hoffmann, architect Hashim Sarkis, and director Sir John Akomfrah, as well as a session on jazz and humanity led by Hancock and journalist John Ridding.

Attendees will also be able to engage with the work of regional talents, including poet and artist Alia Al-Shamsi, designer Omar Al-Gurg, and architect Abdalla Almulla, offering insights into the UAE’s growing creative sector.

The event’s global partners include UNESCO, The Economist Impact, Design Museum, Google, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, and the Recording Academy. Additional collaborators range from regional institutions such as Louvre Abu Dhabi and Cultural Foundation to international cultural bodies such as Institut du Monde Arabe, TeamLab and the Herbie Hancock Jazz Institute.

Topics: Abu Dhabi Culture Summit

REVIEW: ‘Andor’ proves yet again why it is best ‘Star Wars’ series

REVIEW: ‘Andor’ proves yet again why it is best ‘Star Wars’ series
Updated 43 min ago
Shyama Krishna Kumar
Follow

REVIEW: ‘Andor’ proves yet again why it is best ‘Star Wars’ series

REVIEW: ‘Andor’ proves yet again why it is best ‘Star Wars’ series
  • Rather than big-picture heroics, ‘Andor’ looks at the minutiae
  • Tony Gilroy’s script could be ripped from real headlines today
Updated 43 min ago
Shyama Krishna Kumar

DUBAI: In an era of recycled nostalgia and cookie-cutter franchise television, “Andor” has stood apart — an unflinching, cerebral, slow-burn rebellion against everything formulaic in “Star Wars.”

Its final season — the first three episodes are now available to stream on Disney+ — does not only stick the landing, it embeds itself in the emotional marrow of the galaxy far, far away, delivering arguably the most powerful conclusion to any “Star Wars” story to date.

Moving away from the big-picture heroics of the Jedi versus the evil Sith, “Andor” instead looks at the minutiae, immersing itself in the details of both sides of war: the cold machinery of oppression and the sacrificial cost of resistance.

Even as the rebellion reaches boiling point, audiences are treated to smaller, more personal moments.

There are the intricacies of a political wedding on Chandrila, a lunch scene involving an overbearing mother and her son’s new beau, and flashbacks to an adoptive father and his new daughter/mentee coming into their own.

The season especially spends time on the long-anticipated Ghorman Massacre, rendered in chilling, harrowing detail.

Fans have known about it in bits and pieces — a footnote in the birth of the Rebellion — but creator Tony Gilroy manages to turn it into a gut-punch, a brutal turning point that clarifies the stakes for the characters, and audience.

Written years before current political events, “Andor” feels eerily prescient. Its exploration of surveillance, radicalization, immigration, propaganda, and the erosion of civilian rights could be ripped from today’s headlines.

That is not accidental — Gilroy’s scripts are steeped in the rhythms of real revolutions, from the French Resistance and student revolts to modern authoritarian regimes.

The cast, once again, does a stellar job of bringing to life such a weighty script, involving significant time jumps and mounting stakes.

On the side of the resistance, we have Diego Luna (playing the titular Cassian Andor), Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma), Adria Arjona (Bix Caleen), Stellan Skarsgard (Luthen Rael) and Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau).

The imperial forces are represented by the excellent Denise Gough (playing imperial supervisor Dedra Meero) and Kyle Soller (Syril Karn), as well as Ben Mendelsohn, returning as Director Orson Krennic, a powerful Imperial official who reports directly to Emperor Palpatine.

With “Andor,” Gilroy and Luna have truly set the gold standard for what future “Star Wars” can be. Not just a space opera, but real stories of transformation and beauty.
 

Topics: Andor star wars Tony Gilroy Diego Luna

Review: Watching ‘Hobal’ at the Saudi Film Festival was an immersive experience

Review: Watching ‘Hobal’ at the Saudi Film Festival was an immersive experience
Updated 23 April 2025
Jasmine Bager
Follow

Review: Watching ‘Hobal’ at the Saudi Film Festival was an immersive experience

Review: Watching ‘Hobal’ at the Saudi Film Festival was an immersive experience
Updated 23 April 2025
Jasmine Bager

DHAHRAN: Watching “Hobal” at the 11th Saudi Film Festival, hosted at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, or Ithra, was cathartic.

The setting in which the film was screened was significant. The cinema is close to Ithra’s Energy Exhibit, which allows visitors to explore the journey behind oil extraction and energy resources in the Kingdom on the very land where black gold was first discovered in 1938.

Attentive faces, bathed in the glowing light of the screen sat with popcorn-scented hands. Together, we embarked on a journey — both collective and deeply personal — without moving an inch.

“Hobal” tells the story of a Bedouin family, set in the early 1990s, living in extreme isolation, led by a paranoid patriarch (Ibrahim Al-Hasawi) who believes the end of times is near, and strongly forbids anyone from his family to venture into town.

The title, “Hobal,” is apt. It references a pre-Islamic figure whose word became gospel, offering deeper layers to the film’s exploration of power and belief.

The family’s situation intensifies when Rifa (Amal Sami), the teen girl, falls gravely ill with a highly contagious case of measles and is forced to isolate even further in a tent alone. Her anguished mother (Mila Al-Zahrani) is consumed with worry, but the men, under the strict guidance of the patriarch, refuse to leave the desert to seek medical help. The women — and young teen boy, Assaf — are confronted with a dilemma: Survival or obedience.

With the hissing desert winds, surrounded by stubborn tents and the suffocating grip of impending grief and unearthed betrayal, the question arises: Will they stay or will they go?

The film’s cinematography is a standout. One particularly stunning shot lingers — a mirror leaning into the sand, reflecting Rifa and Assaf in deep conversation seemingly side-by-side but while apart. The desert engulfs them but they seem grounded. It is shatteringly beautiful. The wisest figures seem to be the youngest.

Set against the backdrop of the Gulf War, the real battles feel internal.

What made watching “Hobal” even more powerful was experiencing it in a Saudi cinema — not too far, geographically, from where the Gulf War broke out, knowing this was a story entirely brought to life by local talent.

There is also a strong Ithra connection. The film was written by Mufarrij Almajfel, who also wrote the award-winning 2023 Ithra film “Hajjan” (about camels), which also starred Al-Hasawi — honored at this year’s festival for his remarkable career. Camels, the symbolic “ships of the desert,” make several meaningful appearances here too, helping to move the story along.

Directed by Abdulaziz Alshlahei and produced by Sharif Almajali (along with Alshlahei and Mohammed Al-Turki as executive producers), “Hobal” is a collaborative effort between Shaf Studios, Film Clinic and Peninsula Pictures Group.

The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah and was released in cinemas across the Kingdom in early 2025.

Since then, “Hobal” has grossed an impressive SR21.6 million (about $5.8 million) in its first month, quickly becoming the fastest-growing box office hit in Saudi cinematic history.

It is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

L’Atelier Nawbar gains fans in Hollywood

L’Atelier Nawbar gains fans in Hollywood
Updated 23 April 2025
Arab News
Follow

L’Atelier Nawbar gains fans in Hollywood

L’Atelier Nawbar gains fans in Hollywood
  • British star Cynthia Erivo wears label’s jewelry at Coachella
  • Dima and Tania Nawbar head family business set up in 1881
Updated 23 April 2025
Arab News

DUBAI: Dima and Tania Nawbar, the sisters behind Lebanese jewelry label L’Atelier Nawbar, have added a new Hollywood name to their list of fans: Cynthia Erivo.

The British singer and actress was spotted this week wearing The Buoy Hoops from L’Atelier Nawbar’s latest Lot No. 91 collection during her Coachella debut.

Crafted from 18-karat yellow gold, the statement earrings were paired with a cream lace gown featuring wide bell sleeves layered over a black satin base. The look combined varied textures and was styled with over-the-knee black boots.

The sisters took to Instagram to share a picture of the star wearing the earrings and wrote: “In love!!!”

L’Atelier Nawbar was established in 2011. Dima and Tania are fourth generation jewelers. They are the first women to take over the family’s Beirut-based business which was founded by their great-great-grandfather in a gold souk in 1881.

Since establishing their own modern take on the brand, the sisters have gone on to see their designs worn by international celebrities including Queen Rania of Jordan and Joey King.

And they have their collection of rings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets stocked at major retailers including Harrods, Bloomingdales and Moda Operandi.

The designers previously told Arab News that they wanted trendy, multipurpose jewelry for every day and night. Their designs can be worn in various ways, with pendants serving also as rings, which reduces investment costs.

The sisters also decided to move away from the traditional business model and offer something new. “We didn’t want to traditionally follow the family business as it was,” Dima said.

So the sisters decided to embrace individuality by remodeling pieces and creating new bespoke jewelry for clients.

Clients are able to bring their own jewelry into the atelier, and the designers will upcycle and redesign the pieces into something fresh and modern.

Topics: L’Atelier Nawbar Cynthia Erivo

Ramy Youssef stars in new film by ‘Succession’ creator

Ramy Youssef stars in new film by ‘Succession’ creator
Updated 23 April 2025
Arab News
Follow

Ramy Youssef stars in new film by ‘Succession’ creator

Ramy Youssef stars in new film by ‘Succession’ creator
Updated 23 April 2025
Arab News

DUBAI: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman and Cory Michael Smith play four billionaires in “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong‘s HBO film, “Mountainhead.”

As they enjoy their trip, the world erupts in chaos with headlines such as “Sectarian Violence Escalates in India” and “President of Uzbekistan Forced to Move to Secret Location” interrupting their downtime.

In the trailer, the billionaires receive a call from the President of the United States. “What could he possibly have to say?” asks Smith.

Youssef responds: “That your platform has inflamed a volatile situation, circulating unfalsifiable deepfakes, massive fraud, market instability.”

Armstrong wrote and directed the film, which is a parody of the lives of the ultra-wealthy.

Filming began on “Mountainhead” in March, giving the crew a tight turnaround time before the film’s release on May 31.

In a recent interview with Variety, Youssef teased the film, saying it’s “funny in the same way ‘Succession’ is.”

Egyptian American comedian, writer, actor and director Youssef is known for creating and starring in “Ramy” on the US streaming platform Hulu, which won him a Golden Globe in 2020 in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy.

His animated series “#1 Happy Family USA” had world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March.

Latest updates

Saudi forces join ‘Desert Flag’ air drill in UAE
Saudi forces join ‘Desert Flag’ air drill in UAE
Staunchly Catholic Philippines begins period of mourning for Pope Francis
Staunchly Catholic Philippines begins period of mourning for Pope Francis
UN appoints envoy to assess aid for Palestinians
UN appoints envoy to assess aid for Palestinians
SRMG, Naif Alrajhi Investment to power regional media and advertising ecosystem
SRMG, Naif Alrajhi Investment to power regional media and advertising ecosystem
UN competition calls on Saudi startups using AI in travel
UN competition calls on Saudi startups using AI in travel

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.